Bedanova vs. Dementieva
by Prip
18-year-old Daja Bedanova continues to impress, playing a fantastic
match against Elena Dementieva of Russia. Starting the match very
tentatively, the Czech girl let Elena take control of the match, and
really didn't factor at all in the first set. Elena got a high
percentage of her first serves in, and that made all the difference
in the world. The Russian lost only 1 point on her first serve in the
entire first set, and it looked like Daja stood no chance against the
Russian's firepower.
The second set was totally different, with Daja playing more like
she had nothing to lose. No longer merely keeping the ball in play,
the youngster started hitting some winners of her own, and was moving
Elena around the court more. Doing well to open up the court and
getting shorter angles on her shots, Daja found herself up
a break and serving for the set at 6-5. That's when the sudden
realization that she was there on Stadium Court, playing in a night
match against the number 9 seed set in again. The game went to 8
deuces and Daja held set point a total of 5 times, but couldn't break
through, and double-faulted to give Dementieva the final advantage before
hitting an unforced error to bring the second set into a tie-breaker.
This was certainly a situation the youngster didn't want to be in.
Elena served ahead, and got the first point. Sure enough, Elena got
the break of serve, and Daniela found herself down 2-4 and perched
precariously on a straight set defeat. Instead of balling up, she hit
out, and Elena found herself practically standing and looking at
winners land beyond her reach. Daja evened the tie-breaker up at
5-all, and fought hard for the next two points to bring the match to
1 set apiece.
Feeling her confidence surging, the Czech girl managed to stay
focused and not let herself fall into a slump after the excitement
of the second set. Looking focused and concentrated during the
changeover, Daja simply took the fact that she had a chance at this
match as nothing extraordinary. She maintained her level of play, and
managed to cut down on her unforced errors considerably.
The main factor that decided the match in the end was the first
serve percentages. Elena only got about half her first serves in,
while Daja did a little better, and the serve proved crucial in
deciding the points. With Daja serving ahead, she got the break to
go up 5-3, and this time, didn't tighten up. On the other hand, Elena
uncharacteristically got tense, and could only watch as an ace went
past her to seal the deal.
As if the defeat on center court against such a rookie wasn't a blow
enough to the proud Russian, Elena Dementieva would later show up to
her press conference only to find an empty media room. Daja had shown
up immediately after her match, glowing with pride, and had gotten it
over and done with well before the next match had started.
Unfortunately for Elena, nearly every single member of the media had
turned to watch Carlos Moya take on Lleyton Hewitt, and had either
forgotten or not bothered to query the Russian. Hopefully she will be
able to walk away from this whole ordeal with her self-belief intact,
and continue with the success she has had thus far.
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Last updated 26 September 2015
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